Friday, January 27, 2012

Creamsicle Smoothie


One of my favorite kid-hood memories is running after the ice-cream man, trying to get my hands on a "Creamsicle"! Remember those?! I wonder if they still make them.
Last summer I actually heard the familiar music of an ice cream truck! But getting my purse, finding my money, putting on my shoes and running after him...
Ain't gonna happen. Especially the 'running after' part.



So, the other day I had a real craving for that Creamsicle taste. If you've ever had one, you'll never forget it. Yummm!! I went online and found several links that had recipes.
So, I combined, removed and came up with this. A trial run.
These are the ingredients I thought I'd be using. The stuff in the bottle is Organic Vanilla Extract.






I had to buy a cleaver (yikes!!) to open the young coconut. If you've been reading this blog, you know that I'm totally freaked-out by big ol' honkin' knives!! And this is a BIG one!!






I finally worked-up some nerve, put my left hand behind my back, so as not to whack it off, since I plan to use it again... and hacked away!! They make it look sooo easy, when they open coconuts on YouTube. Fibbers, all of 'em!! I hacked. And hacked. With my toes curled under.






I finally turned the coconut on its side and shaved some of the top away.
Saw that on YouTube too.






Hacked at it some more. Hold on! I think I'm getting there!! I see white!






Yup! I finally got through!! I had to keep hacking until I got through all the way around.
Then I was able to lift the top off. Not an easy feat. My fingers slipped and I jammed one into the wood. Ouch. But, through it all, I kept my left hand glued to my back!!





I emptied the milk into a glass. I was surprised at how much was in there. Nice.





But the meat... a disappointment. It was much harder than the other young coconuts I've eaten.
Much too hard to scrape out of there with a spoon. I'm not the most patient person in the world, when it comes to stuff like this. I gave up after a few tries.





I poured the milk and the meat into my BlendTec Blender (which I love!) and added one banana.





Then two oranges.





One of the things I love about my BlendTec, is that the fruit/greens/whatever, doesn't have to be cut into tiny pieces, like some blenders, to blend completely. Just fling 'em in.





Then I added 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. I was going to use the mango, but decided against it.





I set the BlendTec on the 'Large Smoothie' setting and let it do its thing.





I did a taste-test and it needed to be a little sweeter. I had three choices; Agave Nectar, Alcohol- Free Stevia, or Alcohol-Free Vanilla Stevia. I used the latter, because it made my mouth water. The next time I make one of these, I'm going to add another orange.





It needed to be ice cold, so I added some crushed ice.





I gave it another whirl...





And there it was! A Creamsicle Smoothie!! Ohhh yeahhh.

But I'm still trying to get over my fear of knives, cleavers and...



The movie, "Psycho"!!

Schriek



Schriek



Schriek



Schriek








Let me leave you with a much more pleasant image...



ENJOY!!!! ~



What are some of your favorite kid-hood treat memories?




For more about smoothies;





There are SO many things to love!
I love "Followers" and comments too!
Thank you.




Signing off for now,
gabriele




15 comments:

  1. oh that looks delicious! i love using young coconut but find the whole process of extracting the meat to be a pain in the buttinski too. usually i have john do it and then i stand there telling him he's doing it wrong.=)

    my favorite kid-hood treats were water ice. i think it's a local thing. kind of like a slushie but way better. i lived in philadelphia across the street from a convenience store. my parents kept a change cup on their desk and would let us take a quarter and two dimes for a daily water ice in the summer. those were the days...=)

    my favorite flavor was pina colado. you've got me thinking of how i can recreate it! mmm!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. kelli, we lived in PA too and used to enjoy those water ice thingies!! I found some recipes for "raw Pina Colada recipes" online!!
      You could either have a smoothie, or pour it over ice!
      Take a look on Google, but here are some of the ingredients people are using; Pear, banana, pineapple, shredded coconut, or coconut milk, Agave, vanilla extract, sea salt. Not everything at once. These are different ingredient ideas.
      I am SO making this!!!! Thanks for the idea!
      xxxx

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  2. I am so impressed with this recipe and that coconut; never seen anything like this. I can almost taste it; great photos.
    Rita

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rita, It tasted reeeeally good!! But opening that dang coconut! I'm going to try making it with nuts/nut milk the next time!! Glad you like the pics. Thanks.
      xxxx

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  3. Haha! I really enjoyed your creamsicle adenture ^^ A killer fruit combination!

    Lots of love
    /Karolin

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Karolina, an adventure it was! :)
      And the taste of that combination was great!!
      I hope you try it!
      xxxx

      Delete
  4. Loved the coconut pictures, I was picturing you whacking away and this made me laugh! Looks delicious, thanks for sharing! I will have to try this one sometime! <3

    ReplyDelete
  5. Michele, I'm SO happy that I could be your comic-relief. :)
    Anytime.
    I hope you do try it!! Your boys would love it!! Hubby too! Take pictures if you make it. I expect to see orange mustaches this time. :)
    xxxx

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  6. That got my mouth watering... I'm going to try it later. I can't get my hands on a coconut so I might try it with almonds...
    And I've been tickled by the mental images of your Psycho & cleaver photo's all day, so cleverly done and sooo funny...I had to explain to my family why I was chuckling to myself when we were in the car earlier!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hagthorn, I'm glad you want to make that smoothie! If you make it with nuts, let us know how it turned out. Better be careful about being in public and laughing to yourself. People might think 'you're' psycho. :)
    xxxx

    ReplyDelete
  8. Creamsicle = heaven
    However, no matter how much I loved them, I would never do any of the things you so cleverly pictured. I'll just hold onto that childhood memory. And the memory of your left hand glued to your back.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Lorna, I don't blame you! :)
    Would you believe that I'm going to try to do that again?! Because of kelli, I'm going to attempt to come up with a recipe for a Pina Colada smoothie. Yummmmm!!
    Wish me luck! :)
    xxxx

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  10. That looks sooo yummy...my mouth is watering:)
    I love everything with coconut! Thanks for your recipe.

    Have a lovely weekend and I hope there is plenty of sunshine heading your way!

    Sending big hugs to you my friend!
    Gaby

    ReplyDelete
  11. Gaby Bee, it was yummy! I'm sure I'll make it again. Maybe without the coconut. :) We've been having lots of sunshine lately, which I love.
    Thanks for the hugs, the other Gabriele. :)
    Sending some to you too ~
    xxxx

    ReplyDelete
  12. Walls, thank you! It was!! And I'm about ready for another one. :)
    Come join me!
    xxxx

    ReplyDelete